Workplace Attitude , Emotion

and Stress

4-1
Sub Topics-Workplace
Attitude
 
• Introduction
• Attitudes & Behavior
•  
• Job Satisfaction
• Job Satisfaction & Work Behavior
• Job Satisfaction & Performance
• Job Satisfaction & Customer Satisfaction
 
• Organizational Commitment

4-2
Work Related Stress & Stress
Management

McShane/Von Glinow OB 5e
• What is Stress?
• General Adaptation Syndrome
• Stressors (Causes of Stress)

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Companies, Inc. All rights
• Individual Differences
• Type A and Type B Behavior
• Work Stress & Workaholism

3
Work Related Stress & Stress
Management

McShane/Von Glinow OB 5e
Consequences of Distress
 • Physiological
• Psychological
• Behavioral
  

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© 2010 The McGraw-Hill
Companies, Inc. All rights
Managing Work-Related Stress
• Remove the Stressor
• Withdraw from the Stressor
• Change Stress Perceptions
• Control the Consequences of Stress
• Receive Social Support
4
Positive Emotions at Mott MacDonald

To attract and keep talented

employees, companies are finding
creative ways to generate positive
emotions in the workplace.
Employees at Mott MacDonald have
plenty of fun. For example, the Abu
Dhabi oil and gas team has an annual
desert safari, complete with camel
rides (shown in photo).

4-5
Emotions Defined
• Psychological, behavioral, and
physiological episodes experienced
toward an object, person, or event
that create a state of readiness.
• Most emotions occur without our
awareness
• Moods – lower intensity emotions
without any specific target source

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Emotions

McShane/Von Glinow OB 5e
Introduction
• Emotions are a critical factor in employee behavior. Until very
recently, the topic of emotions had been given little or no
attention within the field of OB.
• The myth of rationality. Organizations have been specifically

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© 2010 The McGraw-Hill
Companies, Inc. All rights
designed with the objective of trying to control emotions. A
well-run organization was one that successfully eliminated
frustration, fear, anger, love, hate, joy, grief, and similar
feelings.
•  

7
Traditional Model of
Attitudes
• Purely cognitive approach
• Beliefs: established perceptions of attitude object
• Feelings: calculation of good or bad based on beliefs about the
attitude object
• Behavioral intentions: motivation to act in response to the
attitude object
• Problem: Ignores important role of emotions in shaping
attitudes

4-8
Types of Emotions

4-9
Attitudes versus Emotions
Attitudes Emotions

Judgments
Judgments about
about an
an Experiences
Experiences related
related to
to an
an
attitude
attitude object
object attitude
attitude object
object

Based
Based mainly
mainly onon Based
Based on
on innate
innate and
and learned
learned
rational
rational logic
logic responses
responses to
to environment
environment

Usually
Usually stable
stable for
for days
days Usually
Usually experienced
experienced for
for
or
or longer
longer seconds
seconds or
or less
less

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Emotions

McShane/Von Glinow OB 5e
• The belief that emotions of any kind were disruptive. The
discussion focused on strong negative emotions that
interfered with an employee’s ability to do his or her job
effectively.

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Companies, Inc. All rights
11
Attitudes: From Beliefs to Behavior

Perceived Environment
Cognitive Emotional
process process

Beliefs
Emotional
Episodes
Attitude Feelings

Behavioral
Intentions

Behavior
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Emotions, Attitudes, and
Behavior
 How emotions influence attitudes:
1. Feelings are shaped by cumulative emotional episodes (not just
evaluation of beliefs)
2. We ‘listen in’ on our emotions when determining our attitude
toward something
 Potential conflict between cognitive and emotional processes
 Emotions also directly affect behavior
• e.g. facial expression

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Generating Positive Emotions
at Work
• The emotions-attitudes-behavior
model illustrates that attitudes are
shaped by ongoing emotional
experiences.

• Thus, successful companies

actively create more positive than
negative emotional episodes.

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Cognitive Dissonance
• A state of anxiety that occurs when an individual’s beliefs,
feelings and behaviors are inconsistent with one another
• Most common when behavior is:
• known to others
• done voluntarily
• can’t be undone

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 Emotional Labor Defined
Effort, planning and control needed to express
organizationally desired emotions during interpersonal
transactions.

Emotional labor is higher when job requires:

• frequent and long duration display of emotions
• displaying a variety of emotions
• displaying more intense emotions

16 4-16
 McShane/Von Glinow OB 5e
• Emotions and attitudes usually lead to behavior, but behavior
sometimes influences our attitude the process of Cognitive
dissonance.
• It occurs when there are inconsistencies between two or
more of a person’s attitudes or between a person’s attitudes

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and behaviors. This inconsistency creates uncomfortable
tensions (dissonance) that are motivated to reduce by
changing one or more of these elements.

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 McShane/Von Glinow OB 5e
• Behavior is usually the most difficult element to change;
particularly when it is known to everyone, was done
voluntarily and can be undone. Thus we usually change our
beliefs and feelings to reduce the inconsistency.

reserved
© 2010 The McGraw-Hill
Companies, Inc. All rights
18
 McShane/Von Glinow OB 5e
• The theory of cognitive dissonance suggests that people try to
minimize dissonance and the discomfort it causes. Several
moderating factors suggest that individuals who are
experiencing dissonance will not necessarily move directly
toward a reduction of the dissonance (consistency).

reserved
© 2010 The McGraw-Hill
Companies, Inc. All rights
19
 McShane/Von Glinow OB 5e
• If the elements creating the dissonance are relatively
unimportant, the pressure to correct the imbalance will be
low. Also, the degree of influence that one has over the
elements involved will affect how he or she reacts to
dissonance. Rewards also influence the degree to which

reserved
© 2010 The McGraw-Hill
Companies, Inc. All rights
individuals are motivated to reduce dissonance

20
• According to Hochschild (1983), there are two main
strategies by which individuals can go about managing their
emotions to follow display rules: surface acting and deep
acting.
• Surface acting refers to regulating expressions, or “faking”
the emotion. In other words, the individual simply “puts on
a mask” and displays the correct emotion, regardless of
what that person may actually be feeling (Grandey, 2000).
• Deep acting, on the other hand, takes place when the
individual consciously tries to modify his or her feelings so
that they are consistent with the desired emotional
expression (Grandey, 2000). The result is a natural
emotional display that matches one’s feelings and the
requirements of the job
Emotional Labor Across
Cultures
• Displaying or hiding emotions varies across cultures
• Minimal emotional expression and monotonic voice in Korea,
Japan, Austria
• Encourage emotional expression in Kuwait, Egypt, Spain, Russia

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Emotional Labor Challenges
• Difficult to display expected emotions accurately, and to hide
true emotions

• Emotional dissonance
• Conflict between true and required emotions
• Potentially stressful with surface acting
• Less stress through deep acting

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Emotional Intelligence
Defined
Ability to perceive and
express emotion,
assimilate emotion in
thought, understand
and reason with
emotion, and regulate
emotion in oneself and
others

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Model of Emotional
Intelligence
Highest Relationship
Managing other people’s emotions
Management

Perceiving and understanding the

Social Awareness meaning of others’ emotions

Self-management Managing our own emotions

perceiving and understanding the

Self-awareness meaning of your own emotions
Lowest

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Emotional Intelligence Competencies
Self Other
(personal competence) (social competence)

Recognition of
emotions Self-awareness Social awareness

Regulation Relationship
of emotions Self-management
management

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Improving Emotional
Intelligence
• Emotional intelligence is a set of competencies (aptitudes,
skills)
• Can be learned, especially through coaching
• EI increases with age -- maturity

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Job Satisfaction
• A person's evaluation of his or her job and work context
• A collection of attitudes about specific facets of the job

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EVLN: Responses to Dissatisfaction

• Leaving the situation

Exit • Quitting, transferring

• Changing the situation

Voice • Problem solving, complaining

• Patiently waiting for the

Loyalty situation to improve

• Reducing work effort/quality

Neglect • Increasing absenteeism

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Job Satisfaction and Performance

Happy workers are somewhat more productive workers, but:

1. General attitude is a poor predictor of specific behaviors
2. Job performance affects satisfaction only when rewarded
3. Effect on performance strongest in complex jobs because of
greater employee influence on job performance (e.g. limited in
assembly lines)

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Happy Staff=Happy Customers at
Wegman’s

Wegmans Food Market

enjoys strong customer
loyalty and low employee
turnover by keeping
employees happy.

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Job Satisfaction and
Customers
Job satisfaction increases customer
satisfaction and profitability
because:
1. Job satisfaction affects mood,
leading to positive behaviors
toward customers
2. Job satisfaction reduces
employee turnover, resulting in
more consistent and familiar
service

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Organizational Commitment
• Affective commitment
• Emotional attachment to, identification with, and involvement in
an organization

• Continuance commitment
• Calculative attachment – stay because too costly to quit

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Building (Affective)
commitment
• Apply humanitarian values
Justice/
Justice/ Support
Support • Support employee wellbeing

Shared
Shared •• Values
Values congruence
congruence
Values
Values

•• Employees
Employees trust
trust org
org leaders
leaders
Trust
Trust •• Job
Job security
security supports
supports trust
trust

Organisational
Organisational • Know firm’s past/present/future
Comprehension
Comprehension • Open and rapid communication

Employee
Employee • Employees feel part of company
Involvement
Involvement • Involvement demonstrates trust

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What is Stress?
• An adaptive response to a situation that is perceived as
challenging or threatening to the person’s well-being
• Aphysiological and psychological condition that prepares us to
adapt to hostile or noxious environmental conditions
• Eustress vs. distress

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 General Adaptation
Syndrome Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3
Alarm Reaction Resistance Exhaustion

Normal
Level of
Resistance

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Consequences of Distress

Cardiovascular disease,
Physiological hypertension, headaches

Work performance, accidents,

Behavioral absenteeism, aggression, poor
decisions

Dissatisfaction, moodiness,
Psychological depression, emotional fatigue

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Job Burnout Process
Interpersonal and
Role-Related Stressors

Emotional
Exhaustion

Physiological,
psychological,
Cynicism
and behavioral
consequences
Reduced Personal
Accomplishment

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What are Stressors?
• Stressors are the causes of stress -- any environmental
condition that places a physical or emotional demand on the
person.
• Some common workplace stressors include:
• Harassment an incivility
• Work overload
• Low task control

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Psychological Harassment
Repeated and hostile or unwanted
conduct, verbal comments, actions
or gestures, that affect an
employee's dignity or psychological
or physical integrity and that result
in a harmful work environment for
the employee.

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Sexual Harassment
• Unwelcome conduct -- detrimental effect on work
environment or job performance
• Quid pro quo
• employment or job performance is conditional on unwanted
sexual relations

• Hostile work environment

• an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment

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 Workplace
Emotions, Attitudes,
and
Stress

McGraw-Hill/Irwin
McShane/Von Glinow OB 5e 4-42
Copyright © 2010 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Work Overload and Task
Control Stressors
• Work Overload Stressor
• Working more hours, more intensely than one can cope
• Affected by globalization, consumerism, ideal worker norm
• Task Control Stressor
• Due to lack control over how and when tasks are performed
• Stress increases with responsibility

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Individual Differences in
Stress
• Different threshold levels of
resistance to stressor
• Use different stress coping
strategies
• Resilience to stress
• Due to personality and coping
strategies
• Workaholism
• Highly involved in work
• Inner pressure to work
• Low enjoyment of work © Photodisc. With permission.

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Managing Work-Related
Stress
• Remove the stressor
• Minimize/remove stressors
• Withdraw from the stressor
• Vacation, rest breaks
• Change stress perceptions
• Positive self-concept, humor
• Control stress consequences
• Healthy lifestyle, fitness, wellness
• Receive social support

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